System for controlling electrically-powered devices in an integrated wireless network
View Patent ↗An intelligent network demand control system provides a system and method for controlling demand in an energy delivery system. The intelligent network demand control system employs a transceiver network with a plurality transceivers coupled to meters and appliances residing at a plurality of customer premises. Control room operators instruct a customer premises (CP) energy management controller to implement a reduction in system demand. A demand reduction control signal is relayed out to a predefined group of transceivers to bring their respective controlled generators on line. The predefined transceivers, identified by their identification codes, are specified in the demand reduction control signal. When the transceivers bring the generators on line in response to a broadcasted demand reduction control signal, the actual demand reduction is metered and relayed back to the CP energy management controller. The total demand reduction is aggregated into a single number and then communicated to the operators.
1. A system for controlling electrically-powered devices in an electrical network, comprising:
a first transceiver located at a customer premise and coupled to a meter and further having an identifier storable in a memory coupled to the first transceiver, the first transceiver being configured to wirelessly communicate bidirectionally according to the identifier with a control center via one or more additional wireless bidirectional transceivers, at least one of the one or more additional wireless bidirectional transceivers being a site controller;
a processor coupled to the first transceiver and to a controller, the controller further coupled to a power switch of an electrically-powered device of a plurality of electrically powered devices and operable to exclusively control the operation of the electrically-powered device from at least a state of powered on to a state of powered off when the processor receives a signal associated with reducing electricity consumption at the customer premise; and
a notification device coupled to the processor and operable to provide information corresponding to electricity consumption for the customer premise,
wherein the provided information is utilized, by a management controller, to determine, based on a specified demand change, which of the plurality of electrically powered devices to shut-off, and
wherein the controller is configured to receive a signal from the management controller specifically indicating which of the plurality of electrically powered devices to shut-off,
wherein the first transceiver is further configured to monitor return signals from the meter to determine that an actual demand change has occurred and wherein the determined demand change is added to demand changes from other transceivers to determine an aggregate demand change such that a difference between the aggregate demand change and a specified demand change is compared with a predetermined threshold.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-powered device includes an appliance.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the notification device comprises a user display.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the transceiver communicates a message that is received by the control center, the message corresponding to a reduced amount of electricity consumption for the customer premises in which an electrically-powered device has been changed in operation from a state of being powered on to a state of being powered off.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the notification device is activated to provide information to a customer at the customer premise corresponding to a need to reduce electricity consumption at a predetermined time in the future from when the notification device is activated.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system controller is coupled to the control center via a wide area network.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the aggregate demand change is compared to a specified demand change.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein a determination is made regarding whether the aggregate demand change substantially equals the specified demand change.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein in response to a determination that the aggregate demand change substantially equals the specified demand change, a determination is made that a successful demand reduction has occurred.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein in response to a determination that the aggregate demand change does not substantially equal the specified demand change, a difference between the aggregate demand change and the specified demand change is computed and compared with a predetermined threshold.
11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising determining an amount of change in demand that has occurred.
12. A device located at each of a plurality of customer premises in an electrical power distribution system for controlling an electrically-powered device at the customer premise, comprising:
a first transceiver at the customer premise and coupled to a meter, further having an identifier storable in a memory coupled to the first transceiver, the first transceiver being configured to wirelessly communicate bidirectionally according to the identifier with a remote control center via one or more additional wireless bidirectional transceivers that receive communications from the first transceiver and retransmit the communications, at least one of the one or more additional wireless bidirectional transceivers being a site controller;
a processor coupled to the first transceiver and to a switch, the switch further coupled to an electrically-powered device of a plurality of electrically powered devices and operable to control the operation of the electrically-powered device from at least a state of powered on to a state of powered off when the processor receives a signal associated with reducing electricity consumption at the customer premise; and
a notification device coupled to the processor and operable to provide information corresponding to electricity consumption for the customer premise,
wherein the provided information is utilized, by a management controller, to determine, based on a specified demand change, which of the plurality of electrically powered devices to shut-off, and
wherein the controller is configured to receive a signal from the management controller specifically indicating which of the plurality of electrically powered devices to shut-off,
wherein the first transceiver is further configured to monitor return signals from the meter to detect an amount by which actual demand has changed and wherein the detected demand change is added to demand changes from other transceivers to determine an aggregate demand change such that a difference between the aggregate demand change and a specified demand change is compared with a predetermined threshold.
13. The device of claim 12 , wherein the notification device is wirelessly coupled to the processor.
14. The device of claim 12 , wherein the notification device includes a display.
15. The device of claim 12 , wherein the aggregate demand change is compared to a specified demand change.
16. The device of claim 15 , wherein a determination is made regarding whether the aggregate demand change substantially equals the specified demand change.
17. The device of claim 16 , wherein in response to a determination that the aggregate demand change substantially equals the specified demand change, a determination is made that a successful demand reduction has occurred.
18. The device of claim 16 , wherein in response to a determination that the aggregate demand change does not substantially equal the specified demand change, a difference between the aggregate demand change and the specified demand change is computed and compared with a predetermined threshold.